Banana Watahbottles
by Jackson
Summary: Modern fic with Aoshi and Misao already together. But what happens when Aoshi makes a potentially fatal mistake? I hope I've done a good job keeping the characters in character. Tell me what you think! Chapters 1 to 4 are all clean.
1. Chapter 1:Anniversaries

Misao was always the good girl in school, but for her it really wasn't an effort, it was just how she was. People liked being around her because she was always friendly to others and she was also involved in a number of programs. In the fall she usually went to the middle school and volunteered as the director for the middle school drama club. She also took pictures for the school paper in her spare time and also was on the varsity soccer team.

She always dressed cute, never did someone question her taste in clothing and all the teachers loved her. All in all, she was a model citizen, so it was no wonder that people questioned what she saw in a man like Aoshi Shinomori, her boyfriend of half a year. He always looked nice, and was never mean to anyone, but that wasn't what confused her peers. What people did not understand was that how someone so involved could have a relationship with someone so removed. Aoshi did not participate in anything, no clubs, no after school activities, not even everyday conversations. Some wondered if he even spoke at all. Sure he was attractive, that much was obvious, but even in high school people knew that there was more to a relationship than good looks.

The man in question usually arrived on time to class and as far as the student body was aware of, had never missed a single day of school. He also tended to favor darker colors, though every now and then it seemed as if Misao had dressed him, like the day he showed up in the prussian blue polo and khaki shorts. He had looked damn good, and had also received a lot of attention beause of it. Misao did not seem to mind that other people noticed her boyfriend, in fact, she felt happy because she thought that Aoshi might be breaking out of his shell a little bit.

One of her closest friends, Ayami had warned that if other girls started to notice Aoshi that he might get taken away. At that, Misao had to laugh. She knew more about Aoshi than most people did, and she knew of his rather strong belief in loyalty, honesty, and truth in a relationship. Of course, those were all aspects of a relationship that Misao desired as well, and she knew she could trust him 100 not to break her heart. Though she hadn't told him yet, she was in love with Aoshi. She hadn't mentioned it to anyone though either, for fear of it somehow spreading around to him. She didn't want to discuss it with him until she was ready, because you see, Misao had never been in love before, and her relationship with Aoshi was actually the longest-running relationship of her life.

He also made her happy. Aoshi did things for her that no one else knew about. People thought that there was no depth to their relationship, but they were wrong. Sometimes she would forget the scripts for her middle school plays at her house, and Aoshi would drive to her house and pick them up and deliver them to her without a word of protest. He always knew exactly how long they had been dating, and never missed a special day. Cherished, that was how he made her feel. Of course there were times when they were not getting along, as that happens in every relationship there is, and theres was not excluded from this norm. The thing is, Aoshi is a rather difficult man to get close to because he is so closed up. It was hard for her to get him to share anything about himself, even small things like interests and hobbies. But after a long period of prodding, he finally gave in, and that was when their relationship went from good, to amazing.

Because Aoshi was not involved in any extra-curricular activities, he always had time to spare helping Misao with hers. Since Misao did not have a car, she couldn't just go anywhere she wanted, when she wanted, but Aoshi did have a vehicle and often got up early, before the sun, to take her someplace where she might find an ideal shot for the paper. She loved morning shots, when the clouds were still low, creating some fog, and the sun struggling to make it through the haze. It took her breath away, and she always loved spending extra time with Aoshi.

Sometimes she thought he might be too perfect to believe, but whenever she mentioned such to him, he would just shake his head and tell her that she had done much more amazing things for him. However, whenever she would ask about the said things, he would not respond. It was frustrating, but she decided that prodding was not always the healthiest way to get information out of her enigmatic boyfriend.

Their sixth month anniversary was coming up, and she was planning on celebrating yet another month together. She had told Aoshi that every month of the first year is celebrated, and once you hit the year mark, you only celebrate once a year. He had just agreed to celebrate it, didn't ask her if she was sure that was how it worked, since he did have other friends that he could have asked. He might have discovered that not everyone celebrates an anniversay every month. But it made Misao happy and that was simple enough to do, so if she wanted to celebrate an anniversary every month, then he would willingly submit if that was all it took to make her smile.

Though as the months passed, he was running out of ideas of what to do for their anniversaries. It was the half year mark that they were at and he wanted to do something special. After thinking for a long time, Aoshi had come to a decision as to what they would do, and had told her nothing more than for her to be ready at three, and wear something comfortable. He had mentioned for her to wear sneakers, and told her to pack an overnight bag. At that, Misao had bounced around excitedly, not that Aoshi could have seen it since it had been a phone conversation, but he could tell that she was eager.

Misao, on the other hand, wished that she had the ability to make Aoshi smile. In the half a year they had been together, he never really smiled. She could tell when he was pleased with something, or annoyed, or content. But happy? Was he happy with her? Then thought made her stop in her tracks as she was packing her overnight bag. She shook her head, of course he was happy with her, otherwise, a sensible man like him wouldn't even be dating her right now. Perhaps tonight she would tell him that she loved him. If she got the chance of course, the mood would have to be right. She pondered over what they would be doing, but couldn't make up her mind since Aoshi had a way of making her think it was one thing only to have it be something entirely different.

Oooooh, she couldn't wait until three o'clock though. It seemed like it would take forever to roll around.

Yay, that is all for chapter one. Hopefully I won't be a lazy ass and not finish it. I would like to actually finish one story in my life. That'd be fun. 


	2. Chapter 2:WHAT?

Misao was getting nervous the closer the time got to three. She knew that he would be there right at three o'clock. So, in order to distract herself she looked at a picture book she had started making during Aoshi and hers second month together. Some photos were of them before they had even started dating, since they had known one another since children, though Misao had known very little about him before they first went out. Aoshi had been cute as a child, but had never really had many friends. Misao supposed he would always be that way; cute with a small circle of trusted people in his life. She continued to flip through the pages and paused when she came across a favorite. It was one of the most precious pictures she owned, and had been lucky to catch it at all. It had been taken a year earlier when Aoshi had come over to help her study for math. He stayed up with her patiently explaining her errors and how to easily correct them and how to keep her from making the same ones over again. Misao figured that she must have fallen asleep while working out some problems because she woke up around five thirty the next morning in her bed.

When she started to sit up she noticed that Aoshi was fast asleep at her desk, and it looked as if he had been correcting her math while she was alseep, and had in fact passed out himself. He looked so cute there at her desk, and she grabbed the camera from her night stand (she did love to take pictures after all) and took a shot quickly before he could wake up. The flash had startled him, and he was immediately up and apologizing for falling asleep. Misao just smiled, hiding the camera and thanked him for his help. It had been ackward for a moment there she remembered, as if he wasn't sure if he sould leave or not, but in the end, he took his leave and left her alone. It was precious to her because she had never before or since seen Aoshi while he was asleep. It was not common practice between them to spend the night at one anothers house, in fact, Misao was surprised that they were going to be doing something overnight for their anniversary. However, she was a little nervous. Sometimes she had irrational thoughts related to Aoshi and believing that he expected certain things of her at times. Basically, she feared that he perhaps thought that for their six month anniversary that they would share a bed…she paused on that thought.

"Ah! What am I thinking?" she blushed and covered her face in embarassment. She hadn't even packed anything that could be considered sexy…she didn't even think she owned anything sexy. She sighed, the thing was that, she loved Aoshi with all her heart, and the thought of having sex didn't really bother her as much as the fact that she was so self-concious of her own body, and terrified that Aoshi may not like it. It was something about herself that she could not exactly alter, and if Aoshi didn't like her because of it…well, she really couldn't blame him because it's hard to be attracted to someone with the body of a twelve year-old. She snorted, "Now I'm making Aoshi sound like a petafile. What am I going to do…" she pondered out loud as she stood up off the floor and put her shoes on. It was only five minutes or so until Aoshi would be there and she figured that she may as well go downstairs and wait.

Once downstairs Okina immediately began to pick on her.

"Ah, Misao! I heard it is Aoshi and yours sixth month anniversary!" he giggled, and Misao immediately figured that he must have been drinking. She gave him a light glare.

"Yes it is. He is taking me out." She told him dryly. She really hated it when he picked on her.

The old man chuckled again and tried his best to look like he was seriously contemplating something, "I don't know if I should allow this kind of behavior though, I mean you are still so young Misao. Perhaps I should sit him down and explain a few things, you know…make sure he knows about safety."

Misao blushed and got angry, "WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOU IMPLYING OLD MAN?" she bellowed. The old man covered his ears, and luckily Omasu walked in at that moment and drug him away.

"Have fun Misao!" she smiled and pointed to a spot behind the younger girl. Everything froze for Misao. She watched Okina being drug out of the room and mentally prayed that Aoshi had not been behind her long. There was a long moment of silence, but for Misao it was not a comfortable one. She felt a weight settle on her shoulders and recognized it as his hands, but her body went tense with the pressure.

"How long have you been behind me?" she asked meekly. She heard him sigh and his hands moved off her shoulders. He bend down next to her to pick up her bag and turned to walk out the door. Misao bit her lip, turned, and followed him. Yup, no mistaking it, he had heard everything. It was so embarassing, though probably more so for Aoshi, I mean her grandfather had been talking about having a conversation with Aoshi about having sex with her. So with a heavy sigh she calmed herself down and smiled genuinely when Aoshi opened the door for her. She never would have guessed Aoshi to be the wealthy type, but apparently when his parents had died, they had left him with a rather enormous sum of money. She never really though about it unless she was getting into his car, which was a black, six speed Acura RS-X. Once she was in, Aoshi closed the door softly and Misao put on her seat belt. She heard him open the trunk to load her bag in before he moved to the driver side and got in.

He paused and looked at her for a moment before saying, "Happy Anniversary Misao." She in return nodded and smiled softly at him. The words may have sounded cold and forced, but the look in his eyes told her that he was happy to have her there with him.

She tried not to laugh as a thought came to mind, and Aoshi picked up on it quickly and asked, "What are you laughing at?" However, instead of his voice coming across as harsh, it sounded much more curious, though still as serious as ever.

Misao smiled at him, "I was just thinking that you are so lucky to have me. Anyone else would have dumped you by now, but I'm just so wonderful that I put up with you and allow you to fawn over my ever desire." She explained with feigned arrogance. She didn't really think that way, it was just fun to tease, it lightened the air.

Well it would until Aoshi would retort with something serious, and it was sure to come. She waited, and she wouldn't be disappointed. She saw his lips opening to respond.

"Aa, I am a lucky one." He agreed with her. He had started the car and was driving off to their destination, but Misao would never have known. She had never…EVER, heard that tone from him before. It sounded…wistful? Misao was not sure she would ever be able to properly describe it, but she was shocked for a good three minutes until he spoke again.

"Do you have any guesses as to where we are going?" he asked. He really just wanted to know if he still kept her on her toes as much as he liked to or if he was losing his touch. He prayed that she couldn't read him quite that easily yet, it would spoil so much of the fun he had with her.

Well, that is all for now. I have to go pick up my puppy from the vets office. My sweet little one has got mange  Got him and his brother from the animal shelter and he was really sad when I had to leave him at the doctors office this morning so I don't want him to have to wait a long time to come home. Anyways, I hope that everyone liked this chapter. Sorry that it is short. It comes up as two and 1/2 pages on my computer…but it always looks so much shorter on Ah well. I hope that everyone enjoys the rest of their day. I'll be sure to update as soon as I can.

HEARTS!

Jackson

P.S. Thank you for all my reviews so far. I CHERISH them! And I'm alright with constructive criticism. I hope that there was an alright amount of dialouge this time. I feel that I am not as good when it comes to dialouge but I will do my best! 


	3. Chapter 3:The Date Part I

Misao yawned slightly. They had been in the car for three hours now and it was just turning six o'clock. Aoshi had failed to mention that she might have wanted to bring a snack for the ride. As of yet, she hadn't complained, but it was hard to get her stomach to obey the same rules. Almost as if on a timer, her stomach rumbled, and she sunk into her seat embarassed.

"Sorry." She mumbled softly, and looking over at Aoshi. His eyes caught hers for a brief moment before lowering to her stomach and then turning back to the road.

"We'll pull over and eat at the next exit." He said casually. And just like he had said, at the very next exit, he pulled up the ramp and turned right. Misao was truly relieved that they were going to eat so soon, so she relaxed in her seat, not even caring where the next meal would be coming from.

TWENTY MINUTES LATER

Misao awoke to Aoshi hovering above her. She wasn't sure how she had woken up; perhaps she knew that someone was staring at her. He smirked lightly at her and moved a hand across her lap to undo the seat belt. It was then that she noticed that Aoshi was leaning over her from her right, meaning that he was out of his seat and had opened her door. With her mind still foggy from sleep she asked,

"How long was I asleep?"

Aoshi stood upright as he said, "About an hour. When you fell asleep, I figured I would just keep driving until you woke up, but then your stomach kept grumbling even in your sleep and I decided just to stop and feed you." Of course he knew it was a lie. She had only been out for twenty mintues or so, but anything to throw her off would be good. And a bright blush covered her cheeks when he mentioned her stomach rumbling was just what he had been looking for. He held his hand out for her to help her stand and she took it with a smile, though the blush still tainted her cheeks.

Once she stood up and looked around she paused. Her eyes widened at the unfamiliar restraunt in front of her and she looked down at herself, then to Aoshi. It had not occurred to her that he was actually dressed rather nice, with black dress jeans and a white dress top. He did NOT look casual. How did she miss something like that? That was when she realized that Aoshi had not let her mind wander in the three hours in the car. Asking her "what if" questions, and keeping her thoughts on other things.

The restraunt in front of them was apparently SO fancy and high-to-do, that there were LIMOS parked out front. She looked down at her own attire of old jeans and a t-shirt with sneakers and frowned.

Misao then looked at Aoshi, "I'm not dressed-" but he cut her off.

"I bought you a dress." He said. Misao blushed. "It just takes so long to get here, I wanted you to be comfortable on the trip."

Misao thought the entire thing was incredibly thoughtful, and she leapt into his arms. "I thought we were going camping or something." She laughed.

Aoshi wrapped his large arms around her smaller form and replied, "Well…I am not actually going to be taking you home tonight." He admitted, not wanting her to think the overnight bag was for nothing. He broke away from her slowly and moved to the trunk, opened it and pulled out a beautiful light blue dress. Misao couldn't see all the details since it was in a dry cleaners bag, on a hanger…but she knew it was gorgeous.

"Put it on in the car." He told her and ushered her back into the car and handing her the dress. She didn't like the thought of having to change in the car, but at the same time, it was somewhat exciting to be changing with Aoshi just on the other side of the door. He was leaning against the window, back facing her as he waited. She was really more embarassed than anything, but after a seconds hesitation she noticed that he had parked somewhat far off from the restraunt, and looking around reminded her that his windows were also all tinted. Slowly, she relaxed.

Misao looked down to the dress and smiled. She pulled the bag off of it and felt the texture. It was silky and actually rather simple. There was no intricate pattern, and it if didn't have the princess lines and ties that netted across the back it almost would have looked like a luxurious nightgown. She immediately put it on. It fit perfectly. The spagetti straps were already fitted to her size, and blushingly, Misao had found a strapless bra under the bottom of the dress and had put it on. She would never admit to Aoshi that he had guessed her size correctly. The dress was very comfortable as well.

As she was putting her casual clothes in the bag and setting them in the back seat she noticed a box with her name on it and picked it up. It read: "To go with the dress."

She opened it and pulled out a pair of flat dress shoes, which had the same blue hue as the dress, and they looked like ballet shoes. The ties, like the back of her dress, netted up over her ankles and the tie was hidden under the bottom of the dress. She tapped on the winidow to signal that she was done and Aoshi opened the door for her just as a genlteman should.

Misao stood up and moved out of the way so Aoshi could close the door. But before he did, he leaned in and pulled out a jacket and tie. Adusting the rest of his outfit into place he finally set his eyes fully on Misao.

She smiled up at him, moving her arms up to fix the edge of his shirt to lie flat against his neck. Aoshi moved his hands over her upper arms, her eyes immediately moved to his at the contact. He was smiling down at her, and Misao thought she'd been hit in the stomach. Why the HELL didn't he smile more often? He had the most gorgeous smile she had ever seen, and it caused her to shudder.

"You look very nice in that dress Misao." He whispered and she laughed nervously. You see; Misao had never had a really "romantic" moment with Aoshi. He did nice things for her, but even in doing those things, there seemed to be some kind of wall there, a coldness almost. But tonight, Aoshi felt warm, and as if she could melt if she was near him too long. Of course that thought had her laughing in a little more than nervousness, but Aoshi didn't question her.

"You look very handsome as well." She replied and took his offered elbow and headed into the restraunt. Aoshi gave the host his last name and Misao looked up at him a little shocked. "You had reservations?"

Aoshi gave her an odd look as they were shown their table and he pulled the chair out for her, "Of course Misao. Otherwise we never would have gotten in." She sat down and allowed him to push her chair in. Though all of this was sweet, she still would have been just as happy to go to a movie with him, however, this was such a wonderful treat that there was no way she would pass it up. He settled himself across from her at the intimate table and took the menu the seater provided.

"Feel free to try anything Misao, tomottow will be a long day and we may not get a chance to eat breakfast so fill up now." He told her. She glanced up at him and then back to the menu. She had every intention of eating anything and everything on the menu, because everything looked damn good.

Dinner took them about an hour to eat. There hadn't been any meaningful conversation really, but every time that Misao had glanced up at Aoshi from her plate she had caught his eyes on her. It wasn't just that he was looking at her; it was the WAY he was looking at her. It caused her cheeks to flush, and goosebumps to rise over her arms. He looked so handsome and the environment was so elegant that Misao supposed that the location and appearance might be adding somewhat to her reactions. For Misao the dinner was like a dream, except a small part of her mind nagged with some disappointment that nothing particularly eventful had happened. He hadn't even held a converstaion that lasted longer than a minute during the entire meal.

Misao didn't want to be picky, or push Aoshi into what she really wanted, because she really did love him as he was. She just wished to feel as if he really loved her in return. Money wasn't something that mattered too much to her, she knew from just being with Aoshi that money can't buy happiness. Misao just wasn't sure what to feel. She loved that he had thought to drive her all the way out here for dinner, and it showed that he cared. She adored the fact that he never missed an anniversary, and he had been so kind and considerate. So what was wrong with her? Why did she feel like SOMETHING was missing? She worried her lip for a little while trying to think about why she felt that something had been neglected. She looked up from her plate once more and saw that Aoshi was looking at her has he had all night long, and the goosebumps immediately appeared on her arms.

His gaze drifted over her shoulders, and across her breasts to her embarassment, down to what little of her stomach he could see over the table and then slowly back to her face. "Misao…" he paused and leaned back in his seat, loosening his tie and unbuttoning the first button of his shirt. She made a small affirmation in the back of her throat as if to encourage him to continue.

He sighed, righting himself in the chair so that he was sitting appropriately, and closed his eyes for a moment before reopening them and locking with hers. The look had her stomach doing flip-flops. She brought a hand up to cover her tummy in an effort to settle herself. Aoshi for his part looked entirely too calm. She waited for him to continue, though it looked as if he were debating something.

"I'd like to talk to you, but not here." He said as he stood up, placing a large amount of cash on the table. Aoshi then assisted Misao with standing and walked back to the car. After that, everything went by in a rush for Misao. Before opoening the car door for her, Aoshi pressed into her, his hands moving up to cup her face as he kissed her. Misao could count the number of times Aoshi had ever kissed her, and most of the time it was something short and sweet. However, this time she felt as if he were sucking the air from her lungs and if it hadn't been for the car behind her she would have surely fallen. A thought flashed through her mind at the feel of his lips pressed so demandingly against her own; was this what was missing at the table? Affection? But as soon as the thought came, it was gone.

And, to her disappointment, it ended abruptly. He opened the door and guided a dazed Misao into the car, buckling her in before moving to his side and driving off. This of course is where everything went in a rush. She was out of it for a good period of time until she noticed that the car was no longer moving. When she looked out the window Misao gasped. She couldn't believe it. Misao wished she could have sat in that moment forever, because right in front of her was the most gorgeous thing she had seen in her entire life. She got out of the car as if in a trance, and was only vaguely aware when Aoshi had gotten out and moved beside her.

"Happy Anniversary, Misao-mine." He murmured into her ear.

Lalala, gee…I wonder where they are: ) I had SO much fun writing this chapter. I mean some parts might o' been a little boring for the reader and I apologize for that. I was running out of descriptive words and everything was just popping into my head I was in a little bit of a rush to just get it out and into words. So I hope everyone likes it. My puppy is doing much better, it was nice o' u to ask. Slowly but surely I am getting these chapters a little bit longer.

Augh, though I wish they updated the second I put them up on my story. **Sigh ** it takes like forever for them to show up on Whatevar! I hope you guys enjoy. And thank you for the reviews, I really do listen to your opinons (good and bad)!

HEARTS until next time!


	4. Chapter 4:The Date Part II

"You gave me the sunset." Misao breathed in amazement. He had taken her to the beach, and apparently gotten there minutes before the sun had fully sunk below the horizon. She felt something being pressed into her hands, and regretfully looked down. Her breath caught once more, he had bought her a new camera, and from the looks of it, she would be able to capture the sunset with it as well. She looked up at Aoshi, disbelief clearly evident in her eyes. He simply watched her.

She didn't know what to do. Was this Aoshi? Who was he? He had never spoken to her as if there was no wall between them. His hand covered hers over the camera; "Take a picture, before you miss it." He advised and moved away from her, starting to the steps that led down to the sand of the beach. And…to Misao's sceret delight, he began to take his shirt off. She quickly moved her camera and took a picture of him as he pulled his half buttoned shirt over his head, his back towards her.

She was able to catch the sunset in the picture as well. Misao felt truly at ease. Of course, being her scenery loving self, she couldn't help but catch a few more pictures of the sunset before following Aoshi onto the beach, tugging her shoes off as she went. When Aoshi turned to face her, she took another quick picture of him. He frowned at her.

"Misao, you have plenty of pictures of me." He sighed, giving her a rather disapproving look. She moved her face out from behind the camera, and glared.

"Aoshi, this is a kodiak moment." She pouted. At that he started walking towards her and plucked the camera right out of her hands. She panicked, thinking he was taking it back from her, when he took a picture of her, and she was dazed a moment before narrowing her eyes.

"I don't need pictures of myself Aoshi." She reprimanded. He meerly smirked.

"Pose." He said, his voice clearly telling her that it was an order, not a request.

Misao was embarassed, she was of course in a lovely dress and standing in front of a shirtless Aoshi telling her to pose so he could take pictures of her. Then her irrational side kicked in. What the hell was she embarassed for! So she started to dance around on the beach and let Aoshi take a few pictures of her. She was going for dramatic, and randomly hoped that some would only catch her silouettes, with the sun behind her. This really felt as if it was straight from a movie, and she was not sure what to think of Aoshi's thoughtfulness. But then again, Aoshi had always been a THOUGHTFUL person; he just didn't normally put thoughts into actions like he was now. After a little while she decided that there were plenty of pictures of her and moved to take the camera away from Aoshi.

He took one final picture of her and let her pull the camera away from his face. Aoshi then turned and headed back up the steps to the car.

"We aren't leaving yet are we?" Misao asked, her voice carrying a hint of disappointment. Aoshi didn't respond, and simply went to his trunk and pulled out a long, heavy looking black bag and started back down the stairs to the beach. Misao raised her brows, as she looked at the bag, and then smiled brightly. They were going to camp out on the beach. Oooooh how rooooooomantic. She almost snorted, Aoshi didn't know about romance. Just DOING something romantic like dinner or camping on the beach wasn't romantic unless the person ACTED romantic as well, and Misao would surely have a heart attack before then…or at least shortly afterwards.

It didn't take long to set the tent up since Misao helped. Her silk dress felt nice against her skin, especially when the salty breeze would shift it around her body, giving her goosebumps. It was now night, and the half moon gave a fair amount of light, but Misao was getting sleepy. She retrieved her bag from the car and made her way into the tent to change. Her Pjs consisted of thin cotton pants and an old t-shirt. But damn was it ever comfortable. Aoshi sat with her oustide the tent for a while and Misao had the hopes that there might have been some decent conversation…but it was only silence, except for Misao's random comments and Aoshis grunts of agreement when appropriate.

Sighing she stood up and told him goodnight. Aoshi let her leave, turning his attention back to the ocean. Misao fumbled with the zipper on the tent, found her sleeping bag and laid down. It wasn't long before she was out completely.

Aoshi sat on the sand for a long time, doing what he did best…think. But after awhile he was tempted to walk, and knowing that Misao would be safe on a private beach, began to move away from her and to the waters edge.

_Misao was running down the side of a gravel road. To say that the area she was running through was deserted would almost be considered an understatement. She kept on going though, but it seemed like the road would never end, it just went on forever, and there were no turns or intersections, just one long dismal street. Sighing, she tried to stop, but her legs just wouldn't allow for it. However, this didn't really surprise her, and she just kept going, at least it was nice out. Of course, you mention one good thing, that means it's gonna have to be taken away. _

_"Right." Misao muttered as it began to pour rather cold rain. She shivered, feeling miserable. At least running circulates blood so she could keep warm. So Misao began to run a little faster, but the faster she tried to run, the slower she seemed to go until she was walking. Her body began to get colder and colder. She just wanted to run, to get warm, to get away from the rain and the darkness, but the effort was in vain as she came to a dead stop. Then, somehow, the ground just opened up and she fell._

Misao sat up suddenly in bed. It hadn't been a nightmare really, she admitted to herself, just a really weird dream. She shivered and noticed that the flaps to the tent were open and letting the cool night breeze in. Misao looked around for Aoshi, but he was nowhere in sight. It appeared that he had been in his sleeping bag since it was out and messy, but there was no sight of Aoshi himself. So of course, Misao got up to look for him. She pulled her sleeping bag over her shoulders for warmth and headed out of the tent.

"Aoshi." She called, and scaned the area, but she couldn't see him. Misao bit her lip and walked towards the water. It was rather beautiful, with the moon's light reflecting off the surface of the ocean. Looking up she was able to see thousands of stars, many she couldn't actually see if she had been back home.

"Pretty." She murmured. It didn't take long for her to want to walk along the shore, and so she just followed the urge. And about five minutes into her walk she saw Aoshi, he was up the beach a little ways and looked like he was talking to someone. Well, it was probably more like someone talking to him. She shrugged and started towards him, but one small little detail stopped her in her tracks as she neared.

The "someone" was a girl, but that was not what had Misao stopping, it was the fact that Aoshi was KISSING her. He was bent and had his lips firmly against the other womans. Time stopped, her heart stopped, and she couldn't seem to breathe. It wasn't in any way a good feeling. And almost as if sensing her, Aoshi pulled away and turned to look at Misao. His face suddenly looked shocked, and then guilty. That was it for Misao, she turned and bolted the other way. She heard Aoshi yell for her to stop, but it hurt. Was this what she had been feeling? Had she known somewhere in her heart that he didn't love her the way he had loved the woman he had been openly kissing on the beach. He hadn't really even touched her once since they had arrived at the "camp site".

She raced to the tent. Misao was angry with herself more than anything at that moment. Everyone had been right. There wasn't anything deep between them. They were complete opposites. Misao just wanted to fall into that hole from her dream. Grabbing her bag from the tent she ran as far as her legs would carry her down the beach before she called Kaoru on her cell phone. Her best friend sounded tired, but it was probably one or two in the morning Misao guessed. She was panting for breath, had no clue as to where she was, but the second she heard Kaoru pick up the phone she started bawling like a baby, and she hated herself more for it.

"Kaahhhhoooru…he, (sniff). A-aoshi, he was…oh gods I don't know what is going on but he was kissing some girl! Just kissing her. (sob) on the beach that he brought me to on our anniversary. (bawl) I just knew…something wasn't right about our relationship. (sniff) I tho-", Misao was just blubbering everything out, some of it muffled as she bit into her sleeping bag to keep from crying so much. Why had he done that? Who was she? She just wanted to go home.

"Shhhh." Kaoru cooed, waking up as soon as she heard Misao falling apart on the other side. "Where are you? I'll come get you." She said with an air of authority that seemed to barely hide an "I'll kill him for this".

"I don't know." Misao whimpered. She picked herself up and started walking to the street. "The corner of Maybury Road and Seabreeze Avenue…Umm, " she paused, "I think I'm in South Carolina somewhere…"

"Give me a sec and I'll look up the roads. Are there any businesses?" Kaoru asked. She sounded so confident it helped Misao stay somewhat sane. She looked around at the buildings.

"There's a park. Umm…Maybreeze Park." She said, and would have laughed at the name if she didn't feel so miserable.

"I got it, I'll be there in…er…" Kaoru paused. "Well, go somewhere safe for like…three hours. Shit, I don't know where you can stay. Just find a hotel and check in and I'll be there as fast as I can." Kaoru said. Misao nodded even though Kaoru couldn't see it.

"Aa, I'll be here. Just call me when you are close." She whispered and they got off the phone. She looked around her and felt scared. She was in a strange place, barely even knew where she was, and wasn't sure which way to head in search of a hotel. On top of it all, she couldn't get the image of Aoshi kissing that woman out of her head. He hadn't even run after her either. That hurt. That even through all they had been together, he didn't care enough to run after her. And of course, as if to ruin all her ill thoughts of him, she heard him.

"Misao?" she heard him whisper and spun around to face him. She was sure she looked her absolute worst. He approached her and made a move to pull her into his arms, but she closed her eyes.

"Please don't touch me." She said, it was hard for her to say such a thing to him, when even though he had just been off making out with another woman, she still wanted to just return to the familiar comfort of his arms. She knew she couldn't. He had betrayed her. She looked up at him when he didn't say anything and saw that he was looking away. Misao just stood there for a moment, letting one word turn though her mind over and over again, trying to gain the courage to ask.

"**Why** did you do it?" she asked after what seemed to her like ages. His gaze returned to hers and she wished for all she was worth that he had just kept his eyes adverted. The look made her shiver. She could almost feel the guilt raidiating off of him. So he felt bad did he? Good. She mentally kicked herself for being such a bitch, but she couldn't help but want him to hurt like she did in that moment. And then he opened his mouth and she wanted to scream at the words that he offered.

"She asked me to."

Bleah, that was a really hard chapter for me to write because a part of me felt that it was very out of character for Aoshi, but I am worried that I am making him too heartless. Let me know what you think.

KyteAura- I hope I didn't mess Aoshi up for you XP And thanks for the spelling dillio, I don't always opt to use spell-check b/c I'm lazy. Ha, thanks for reviewing! I appeciate the honesty!

KC Evans- Thank you for reviewing, you always have something positive to add. It means a lot to me for you to take the time to write out what you feel are strong and weak points of my writing. Keep reviewing and I'll keep writing, and hopefully it will get better and more interesting to read as I become a more skilled writer, haha.

And thanks to all my other reviewers! I really appreciate all the comments, it really helps to motivate me to write and I am happy that you are enjoying it so far. I hope you love this last chapter and hopefully it won't take me too long to get the next one out as well.

Hearts,

Jackson


	5. Chapter 5:Gotta Get Away

"She asked me to."

The sentence turned itself over in her mind; over and over again until she had anaylzed every single part down to it's basic form. With a steady look set across her rather red face, she slapped him…hard. Misao closed her eyes, already despising the next words that would exit her mouth, but they were the only words she could think of. Inhaling quietly, she paused a moment, opened her eyes and bellowed, "I HATE YOU!" before storming away quickly in search for a hotel. She was so furious that she couldn't seem find some semblance of satisfaction at the sight of his stunned face.

"She ASKED me to? What the fuck! So if I asked you to jump off a fucking cliff right now…would you?" she muttered out loud to herself. Normally Misao would never swear, but the extent of her anger would not permit her to speak as she 'normally' would. She soon came upon a motel and entered the lobby. The greeter gave her an odd look, that Misao unconsciencely ignored as she headed to the counter.

"Are you alright miss?" the receptionist asked, concern lacing through her voice as Misao stepped up.

"Fine, why?" Misao questioned indignantly.

"You're crying." The woman pointed out and bit her lip a little. Misao for her part looked shocked and moved a hand up to feel her soaked cheeks. Had she been so mad that she didn't even NOTICE that she was CRYING!

Misao looked back to the receptionist, "I'll be okay." she assured the woman, though Misao wasn't sure the words were true. After that, it didn't take long to book a room. Misao got her key and headed to the number assigned on her key-card. She got into the room and sat down on the bed.

"What now?" she asked no one in particular.

Minutes rolled by and Misao just sat there. She was tired, but didn't feel like sleeping, she was hungry from all the 'excitement', but didn't really feel like eating. Everything was catching up to her. She'd been so hurt, and then insulted, and it had all happened so fast that she hadn't had time to think about it all…and now that she did have time, she wasn't sure THAT was what she wanted to think on. The pain in her chest wouldn't go away. She moved one hand up to cover her heart.

One minute later, she was bawling into a pillow on the bed, spending her remaining energy crying her frustrations out. Crying so she wouldn't have to think about how passionate Aoshi had been kissing that woman. The thought made her cry that much harder.

A minute after that, Misao was completely out on the bed, still crying even in her fitful sleep. She'd never thought that Aoshi would have it end like this.

Aoshi stood in that one spot frozen as he watched Misao run away from him. What had he said to her? It had been just a little while ago but he was having a rather hard time focusing. She had slapped him, his cheek still stung. He put a hand to his head and murmured one word, "Fuck." Suddenly everything came back in a flash and he sat down, burying his face in his hands. He was so mad he wanted to hit something, punch it in until it was no longer in anyway the shape it had once been. He felt something vibrating on his hip and it took him a second to realize that it was his phone. Shifting he pulled it out of his pocket and answered. It was Kenshin.

"Kaoru just called me saying she had just talked to Misao, are you alright?" he asked. Aoshi shook his head, much like Misao had done when speaking to Kaoru.

"I am fine." Aoshi gritted out. He felt tense, though Kenshin was his friend, he wasn't sure he was ready to admit that he had fucked up. However, the need to confess was much stronger than his pride at the moment and he sighed, almost as if in defeat. He'd already lost what was most important; did he really need pride after what he'd done?

"I made a mistake." Aoshi said, running a hand through his hair. He heard Kenshin sigh, but he didn't say anything, just giving Aoshi the time he needed to try to explain a few things.

"I had a nightmare. So I got up and went for a walk." Aoshi said slowly. There was no need to explain what kind of nightmare; Aoshi had been having them since his parents died when he was a child. A part of him didn't want Kenshin to judge him on this, but he was still confused. Should he be saying any of this when he still felt like everything was spinning? He got up and began to walk back to the tent, trying to remain as rational as he could.

"I met this girl on the beach, she looked a bit like Misao. But she was apparently willing to just drink her life away and when I walked up, she just started to talk to me." Aoshi was trying to recall everything as it happened. "And I indulged in a few drinks with her." He said carefully. That was when Kenshin spoke up again.

"Did you think you were kissing Misao, Aoshi?" he asked in a rather gentle tone that threw Aoshi off slightly as he moved down the beach, but he had hit the nail on the head.

"Aa." He sighed. It was true though. He had just attacked the drinks, they helped him when his nightmare kept resurfacing, and the more he drank, the more he forgot and the more the girl in front of him looked like Misao. And when the young woman had stood shakily, sauntered over to him and asked for him to kiss her, he had fully indulged. He loved Misao, but sometimes he felt he might scare her off if he were to show her how much he loved her. He poured his heart into that kiss, only to realize too late that he was pouring his heart to the wrong woman. And Aoshi felt like the worlds biggest ass. Kenshin didn't say anything for a long while; Aoshi figured that everything was sinking in.

"Kaoru is on her way to pick Misao up." Kenshin said, apparently having no apologetic words for Aoshi. It made sense though, Aoshi didn't want to hear any 'Oh I'm soooo sorry Aoshi' or 'Everything will be alright in the end.' It didn't matter if someone said that, they were empty words, and Kenshin knew that. Kenshin was basically telling him in a round about way that Misao was going to be all right and had a safe mode of transportation home. Kenshin spoke again, which surprised Aoshi somewhat as he almost thought Kenshin had hung up already.

"Aoshi, couldn't you just tell Misao what happened?" he asked. Aoshi thought about the words for a long time.

"I'm afraid the damage has already been done. She hates me." Aoshi sighed. Kenshin seemed to recognize this as the end of the conversation and gave Aoshi his best wishes before getting off the phone. Aoshi hung up and stopped in front of the tent. He had thought that this might have been a great weekend where he could sleep with Misao against him. He could watch her play in the sand, acting like a kid. Aoshi didn't mind her child-like behaviors; in a way it countered his habit for being unbearingly serious. He never did understand what she saw in him that made her want to date him. Suddenly her words flashed through his mind, 'Please don't touch me.'

The words had burned him more than the 'I hate you'. Sitting down on the sand he felt more torn than ever. He wanted to go to Misao and confess to her as he had to Kenshin, but the other part of him wanted to obey her wishes, he didn't want to hurt her more, and he didn't want to hear any more harsh words from her small mouth. He bent his knees up, crossed his arms over the top and buried his face into his elbow…he missed her already.

THREE HOURS LATER

Misao awoke to the sound of her cell phone ringing and answered it groggily.

"Hi little one, I'm in the lobby. Just come down when you're ready." Kaoru said softly. Misao was so happy to hear her friend's voice and grabbed her things quickly before rushing down to the lobby. When she saw Kaoru she dropped everything and slammed into her best friend, giving her a mighty hug.

"I'm so happy you are here Kaoru." Misao cried, her emotions in total control. Her friend returned the hug.

"Are you alright?" she asked as she pulled away from Misao. Kaoru picked up the dropped items as Misao nodded her head, though the streaks down her cheeks said otherwise, but Kaoru said nothing. Giving Misao a smile she said, "Go check yourself out while I put these in the car." She said and moved towards the door.

Misao did as Kaoru advised and then headed outside to the car.

"Thank you for doing this Kaoru." Misao said as she buckled her seatbelt. Kaoru laughed a little at her.

"Misao, this is what best friends are for! I know you'd do the same for me if you had a car." She said and started on home. "So are we going to my house or yours?" she asked.

Sighing Misao mumbled, "Whichever has less people." She paused for a moment as if thinking up any other requirements. "Oh, and whichever is further from Aoshi. So I guess your house." She concluded.

During the ride, Misao told Kaoru everything that had happened, not even leaving out the 'she asked me to' comment, to which even Kaoru looked furious.

"I never would have guessed that Aoshi would sink so low as to cheat. I always thought of him as respectable enough to at least break it off first. Apparently I was way off." Kaoru frowned. It took nearly three hours for Misao to explain everything because she was still so shaken by the entire occourance; she had to pause to calm herself down every now and then.

"I love him Kaoru. Even now I do, even as I hate him for what he did." She admitted. Kaoru gave her a sympathetic look before pulling into her driveway.

"I'll take good care of you Misao, lets just get some rest and hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day. We can go get our hair done or a massage." Kaoru offered. Misao's face lit up for the first time all night.

"I would LOVE that." Misao said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. Both girls decided on what they would do the following day as they headed upstairs to Kaoru room and got ready for bed.

Around 8:30 or 9 am, Misao finally was able to fall into a dreamless sleep. Her mind and nerves were spent, and she swore as she was falling into her temporary coma that it would be one of the best sleeps she had ever had.

Sorry that this chapter was a little short. Once again, I had a lot of problems with this chapter because I knew I was going to have to write a lot of dialogue and I just don't really get jazzed about dialogue.

Though even if this chapter was short, at least it was a rather speedy update! GO ME! Or perhaps I should take more time, write longer and probably better. Personally I'm not very satisfied with this chapter; I just sort of wanted to get it over with because it's sort of at an in-between stage. I mean Aoshi and Misao broke up, and really all this is about is how and why it happened. And Misao crying because I can't have her just get over Aoshi, she has to cry before she can suck it up and be strong again. So…we'll see. I'm not sure how this is going to end though. AoshiXMisao 4evar, but I'm a bit of a fan of dramatic endings so I'm still thinking on what to do.

LOL, so if you found this chapter a bit on the boring side, no worries, I found it a little tedious to write as well, but don't worry, the next chapter will just be getting better! (I was more excited to write the next chapter than this one and so I've actually already started on Chapter 6.

HEARTS,

Jackson


End file.
